Kalyan wall collapse: Three people arrested

While Mumbai was still coming to terms with the Malad wall collapse, another wall in Kalyan came crumbling down claiming the lives of three people. Three people have been arrested for this incident.

Thane: Three people were arrested today (July 4) on the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in connection with the collapse of a wall in Kalyan district of Maharashtra, which had claimed three lives, police said.

Two others have also been charged in this connection, but are yet to be arrested, they said.

According to officials, the compound wall of an Urdu school near Durgadi fort had fallen on an adjacent chawl in the early hours of Tuesday (July 3), killing three people, including a three-year-old boy.

"Three chawl owners, identified as Salman Moulavi, Salim Moulavi and Javed Moulavi, were arrested in this connection, while two others were booked," an official of Bazarpeth police station said.

The five accused had constructed the chawls without obtaining necessary permissions from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and rented out the houses to families, he said.

The accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and others, the official said.

As many as 26 people lost their lives in the Malad wall collapse while 72 others are undergoing treatment.

Activists have demanded action against the officials who supervised the construction of the 20-foot-high wall that caved in. They alleged that the design of the wall was faulty and therefore it collapsed within three years and could not withstand the flow of water.

Considering the demands, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has promised to inquire into the incident and take action against the officials if found guilty.

The state government and the BMC each have announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each deceased.